Page 31 of Going Rogue
CHAPTER 11
Rogue
During their two-hour drive out of the desert, Rogue tried and failed not to think about what Crane had said.
How he felt.
About her.
Every time her thoughts wandered in that direction, her heart beat against the bars of the cage she’d locked it in. But she did her best to ignore it. She trusted him to get them out of this hellhole alive, but did she trust him with her heart?
Unsure of the answer, she shoved the question away. No good would come of entertaining his feelings. Only heartbreak. She’d rather keep hers locked up than havehim shatter it to pieces.
Wouldn’t I?
A frown creased her forehead because a part of her seemed to disagree. Anger stirred in her blood, but it was directed at herself. She’d hurt him. The pain she’d inflicted had been evident in his eyes. Remembering twisted her insides. She hadn’t meant to; she’d only wanted to protect herself.
But at what cost?
Glancing at his stiff profile, regret crept in, and she hid a wince. He’d opened himself up to her and she’d slammed the door in his face. A sigh whispered past her lips as she turned away to stare out the windshield. But the barren landscape only blurred in her vision.
Rogue’s gaze remained inward, where something gnawed at her. A truth she didn’t want to acknowledge. Instead, she chose anger. Anger had the power to override regret.
Because how dare he spring his feelings on her when their main focus needed to be getting out of Iraq in one piece!
Scowling now, she crossed her arms overher chest, angling her body away from him to glare out the passenger-side window.
Why did I let him drive?
Driving would’ve at least kept her busy enough to stop from dwelling on . . .things. Like how she wanted him to kiss her again. To smile at her and tease her.Anythingbut the frosty silence she’d had since they’d driven away from the Bedouins.
“We’re five minutes out.” Crane’s voice lacked the warmth she’d become so familiar with. The words were only the second time he’d spoken since they’d started the trip. The first had been to tell her about the message he’d finally received from his contact.
The man had warned Crane that TOP had left and requested he meet him at a new safehouse. Something about it had sent her gut spiraling, but she’d been too distracted by Crane’s feelings for her to pay it much heed. Besides, it was probably nothing but her growing anxiety to get out of this country. If his contact could help, they needed to meet with him.
“Copy.” Her one-word answer came out as cold as Crane’s statement had been. Shedidn’t even move to look at him. If this is how things would be between them now, she was more than ready to get home and part ways.
Liar.
Her scowl deepened as the inner voice she kept trying to ignore called her out. She never should have slept with him.
No. She should never have kissed him.
This is why she’d always avoided sex. Attachment was inevitable with intimacy. Sheknewthat. Yet, she’d jettisoned all her reservations, anyway.
Stupid, Rogue.
Grumbling at herself, she sat up straighter and uncrossed her arms when the landscape changed. The arid, rocky desert gave way to a town. Streets started to branch off from the road they traveled. Buildings of different sizes cropped up along those streets, but they had one thing in common. They were all tan. Tan dirt on the ground, tan brick on the buildings . . . justtan. She was really starting to hate the color.
Crane made a left turn, and a large warehouse loomed before them—also tan. Though it did have a metal-shingled roof,which glinted under the puffy clouds moving across the hazy blue sky. Beyond the warehouse, a chain-link fence stretched around a runway. She knew they were close to Al Asad Airbase and wondered if this airport was a military or civilian one. Hope that they could fly home sparked in her chest.
“Is this it?” The question proved moot as Crane pulled into an empty dirt lot behind the warehouse. She’d asked it more to break the silence than anything.
He put the truck in park and killed the engine. “Yeah.”
She thought it was all she’d get but then he finally looked at her.
“I don’t suppose you’d stay here if I asked you to?” A hint of his usual teasing danced in his eyes.
